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we still have a few cans of a product called rycoline blanket hardener. its a banana oil extract that will remove the tack from the blanket. ive used it with success when faced with picking problems. theres also a product that goes with it to restore your blanket to pre hardened condition. its called blanket hardener remover. imagine that!!!! i dont know if the stuff is still available as im thinkin it has very high voc

Tom I rememeber using both of those solvents , wonder if Rycoline is even around , there fountain sollution was pretty wideley used in the 80s and before I think , Ive used bleach in a pinch and thats work on piling but more so on the coater blanket....
you work in NY? wheres all the pressman jobs I got laid off in May 09 from Pictorial Offset in Carlstadt NJ....

There are ways to skate around "PILING" in the sheetfed world but there are no tricks whatsoever on a high speed web. I could babysit jobs on my Lithrone 6 & 5 40" with the anti-skin tricks and gel or tack or sterling or one of those typed of reducers and get by. Bottom line, at 50,000 hr. there is no trick, you either have paper that piles or paper that does'nt, It is a problem with the coating adhesion, period.

re webs

Originally Posted by Loupeyeyed

There are ways to skate around "PILING" in the sheetfed world but there are no tricks whatsoever on a high speed web. I could babysit jobs on my Lithrone 6 & 5 40" with the anti-skin tricks and gel or tack or sterling or one of those typed of reducers and get by. Bottom line, at 50,000 hr. there is no trick, you either have paper that piles or paper that does'nt, It is a problem with the coating adhesion, period.

I dont know about webs although I did run a harris V15 back in the 80s , but that was financial printing. I do however see what your saying , my last shop had a Sunday 2000 , and when there was such a problem they would immediatley change out the stock cause you dont want your money maker sitting idle with picking problems.....

Exactly, I figured out the piling issue after the Rotoman was installed at my shop. I have to say that MAN makes an incredible web and I've also heard they make a fine engine. Just not too fond of the 700 perfectors. There is no escaping a stock that piles at speeds like a web.

I remember running a Lithoman a few years ago and every week we had the same problem when printing on the same stock. If you have a piling problem on a web press just keep advancing your fit on all units as you start to see it appear, this will give you a long run inbetween blanket cleaning.

what ive found when it comes to picking is that its like a cancer. lets say that your black is picking on a 6/c press with the black being the first ink down... you can reduce the black ink or harden or bleach the black blanket, but if you dont clean the picking off of the next 5 blankets it will come right back. So if you do something to treat the blanket at times it may require you to do all the blankets. If i must do this i try to only treat the area of the blanket that requires it. if its an ink tack related picking and you have tempeture control of your inker you can run that unit a little warmer in order to help the ink flow better.